Minimally invasive procedures have been implemented in a variety of medical settings, such as for vascular interventions, stenting, embolic protection, electrical heart stimulation, heart mapping and visualization, and the like. These procedures generally rely on accurately navigating and placing treatment devices within a body vessel or body cavity.
During minimally invasive procedures, a body vessel, for example, can be accessed through a small access hole. The small access hole can be initiated by piercing the skin, the body vessel, and any intermediate structures using a hollow needle (e.g., a trocar or a hypodermic needle). With the hollow needle in place, a guide wire can be advanced within an inner lumen of the needle and into the body vessel, thereby providing a “railway” to the vessel. Upon removing the hollow needle, such as by sliding it off a proximal end of the guide wire, one or more elongate treatment devices (e.g., guide catheters, diagnostic catheters, electrical leads, and other interventional devices) can be advanced over the guide wire and into the body vessel, such as for use in a diagnostic, therapeutic, or other procedure.
There are many risks involved with advancing treatment devices over a guide wire and into a body vessel or body cavity. For example, a distal end of a treatment device can skive or otherwise damage a wall of a body vessel, particularly as the device is introduced into the vessel or passes through narrow passages or tortuous vessel anatomy involving sharp bends. Advancement of treatment devices also risks dislodging embolic material or even perforating the vessel wall due to an open distal end edge of the treatment devices catching or “fish mouthing” on an opening or other irregularity of the wall.